Written by Francia Oviedo, Creative Assistant with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Honduras
I have heard that women use 20,000 words a day and men 13,000. I can assure you that I hit that mark (haha). Wow, but how many problems have those 20,000 words gotten me into when I don’t use them wisely, when I allow my words to be guided by the flesh and not by the Spirit? This reminds me of Balaam.
Balaam was a words guy, so much so that three chapters are needed in the Bible to tell his story, found in the book of Numbers, chapters 22-24. Balaam was a man known to use his words to bless or curse peoples. He was just the man Balak, the king of Moab, needed in order that his words might be used to curse the people of Israel.
22:5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:
“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.” (Num. 22:5-6)
But Balaam pledged to go to that place and do that deed even when God had not allowed it. Such were the circumstances that God had to give him a lesson and make his donkey talk! Finally, Balaam obeyed God and was unable to pronounce any words that God did not allow him to speak.
But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.” (Num. 22:18)
Fortunately, he obeyed and used his words in accordance with God’s will. Instead of cursing the people of Israel, he ended up blessing them three times. Thankfully, God led Balaam to use his words wisely, and we all have that power in our mouths. Most of us use 10,000, 20,000, or even more words per day and, like Balaam, we should seek God’s wisdom to choose well whatever we say.
Every word that comes from our mouths has the power to create, to give life, to encourage, to bless, but also has the power to darken, to discourage, to hurt, to curse others or even ourselves. Proverbs tells us, “The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly” (15:2) and it also says, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (18:21).
Like me, I’m sure you can remember a personal story when you used your words in the wrong way, but like Balaam, we always have the opportunity to choose the right words, ones that reflect the love and wisdom of God, ones that create, encourage, and give life. It is a daily choice. I encourage you to remember, the next time you think about how many words you say a day, that you can choose ones that will be a blessing to those around you, and also to yourself.
#IronRoseSister #HIStories #wisdom #words #powerofthetongue #bless #Balaam #guestwriter #blog